UK lenders to set biggest reduction in consumer lending since late 2008

LONDON (Reuters) – British lenders are planning the biggest reduction in the availability of consumer lending since late 2008, when the economy was in the depths of its worst post-war recession, a Bank of England survey showed on Thursday.

The BoE’s net balance of lenders’ expectations for the availability of unsecured lending over the next three months fell to -28.6 from -16.2, signalling the steepest contraction since the fourth quarter of 2008.

Lenders said they expected the availability of mortgages and loans to businesses to remain broadly steady over the next three months.

However, they expected demand for loans for capital investment in businesses to fall at the fastest rate since the third quarter of 2011.